A Snowy Patrol
by Loopstagirl
Summary: Merlin didn't understand why Arthur needed to patrol. Nothing would be providing a threat in this weather. Yet there was something waiting for them in the snow.


**Disclaimer: As per usual, I own nothing.**

**After it snowing allllll day here today, some sort of story just had to come from it!  
**

**Enjoy!**

"Rise and shine!"

Arthur groaned as the curtains were ripped open with a flourish, rolling over and burying his face in the pillow. He knew that the snow had settled over night and that the clouds rolling in would bring more with them. Snow caused chaos – trade was disrupted, the patrols were interrupted and therefore left Camelot vulnerable, and it made Merlin annoyingly cheerful.

The prince had always known that there was something almost naïve about his manservant at times. Yet seeing the way his eyes just seemed to light up every time he glanced out of the window was getting to be something of a nuisance, especially considering that Arthur was bored. He wasn't allowed to train, his father had strictly forbidden him from leading any patrols and there were no delegations coming into Camelot whilst the weather was like this. Whilst he might moan about wanting to get away from his duties for a few hours, now that the time had come to it, Arthur was nothing short of bored.

It certainly hadn't helped when Gwaine had dragged Merlin with the rest of the knights down to the tavern the night before. Arthur had been invited, but he had been expected to dine with the king. Considering how frail Uther's health had been since Morgana's betrayal had been brought out into the open, Arthur refused to risk anything that could jeopardise the fragile hold on reality his father had.

"Why should I?" Unable to stop the grumble from escaping him, Arthur sighed as he buried himself further into the bed. There was nothing for him to do, and it was certainly warm in here. He heard Merlin move across the room and grinned into his pillow as he felt the warmth being given out from the fire as his servant poked it into life.

"Because you have to. Now come on, Arthur, up."

"Who is the master and who is the servant out of us?" Merlin took that moment to pretend that he couldn't hear what the prince was saying thanks to Arthur's voice being muffled by the pillow. As Merlin ignored him, Arthur smirked, wondering if this meant that, just for once, he would have won.

When the bedclothes were ripped away from him and a shirt thrown at his head seconds later, he knew that was not the case.

"Merlin!" Arthur would never admit to making a noise that resembled a yelp as the cool air attacked him, but Merlin simply rolled his eyes from where he was pouring out some water into a small basin.

"If you insist on sleeping without a shirt, you're going to have to get used to the fact that it will be cold." There was something almost mocking in Merlin's tone, and Arthur didn't realise how predictable he had become as he leapt out of bed in order to throw the shirt back at his servant. As Merlin swiftly folded it up, laughing as he handed Arthur another, the prince looked longingly back at the bed.

"Oh no you don't. If I have to work, so do you." Wondering precisely when Merlin had become so efficient, Arthur pulled on the clean shirt as he watched the younger man whip back the covers and begin smoothing them out. Grabbing the breeches that the servant had left out for him, Arthur disappeared behind the screen and began to change.

"We're heading out this morning, Merlin."

"I thought you weren't allowed." Arthur shrugged as he reappeared, splashing his face with water and trying to hide a shiver as the icy droplets touched his skin.

"Make sure you heat this tomorrow."

"Arthur, I thought you weren't allowed out on patrol." Arthur shot Merlin a somewhat cheeky grin as he pulled his warmest cloak out from his wardrobe.

"When's that ever stopped me?" If Merlin was attempting to look disapproving, he failed spectacularly as his eyes gleamed. Throwing the cloak on the bed, Arthur sat down and began pulling on his boots.

"Fetch me the cloak from the back of the wardrobe, would you? The blue one."

"You've just got one out."

"Just do as you are told, _Mer_lin." Merlin huffed, but finally did as his master requested and pulled out the cloak. Arthur had just finished putting his boots on when Merlin came to stand back in front of him, the cloak offered out.

"Good. Now put it on."

"Sire?" It was Arthur's turn to roll his eyes as he stood back up, wrapping his cloak firmly around his shoulders.

"When I say that we are going out, it tends to mean that you are coming with me."

"I'm not following."

"Well there is a surprise. You'll freeze to death in that jacket, and I'm not dragging your frozen corpse back to Gaius, so just put the damn cloak on." Arthur wasn't sure whether to be slightly hurt or not by the look of surprise on Merlin's face, but there was a small smile tugging at the servant's lips as he did as he was told and put the cloak around his shoulders. A snort of amusement escaped the prince as Arthur slid his sword into its scabbard before tying it onto his belt and heading towards the door. The material almost drowned his servant, but at least that would mean he would be warm.

"Don't just stand there, Merlin, come on. And let me know if you see any guards."

"Why?" Arthur glanced at his servant out of the corner of his eye as Merlin fell into step with him, a twinkle sparking deep within.

"Like you said, I'm not allowed out on patrol." Merlin grinned, and Arthur suddenly felt like the boy who had once tried to skive off his lessons. Refusing to think about the fact that he had always been caught and dragged back in those days, he began leading the way down the corridor. He knew this place like the back of his hand; it surely wouldn't be that hard to be able to sneak out?

Unfortunately, he was completely wrong.

With the weather so bad, the guards had been confined mainly to the castle. Not to mention the abundance of knights roaming the hallways mainly looking for something to do. The pair were forced to take the most twisted route that Arthur had ever thought of to avoid detection, and when they finally burst from a small gate in the side of the castle (Arthur was adamantly refusing to think about how Merlin had been able to open the gate when he hadn't been able to shift it), they were both panting and flushed.

The cold air hit them immediately, and Arthur grinned as the tips of Merlin's ears changed colour.

"So now we've made our great escape, what do we do now?"

"We patrol." His hand resting lightly on the pommel of his sword, Arthur began leading the way through the snow. When he realised that Merlin was literally walking in the prince's footsteps so that he didn't have to cut through the snow himself and soak his own trousers, Arthur simply rolled his eyes and made his pace more even. Most days, he would have some kind of scathing comment to make, but he knew just how thin that material was. Merlin would end up frozen.

"This is so stupid, no bandit is going to come out in this weather." It only took a matter of seconds before Merlin was moaning, but Arthur was enjoying being out of the castle too much for it to really get to him.

"Why, what else are they going to do? Stay at home by the fire?"

"They might."

"They're bandits, Merlin. That's why we are patrolling, they don't have homes to stay in." Merlin muttered something under his breath, but Arthur didn't react to it. Instead, he shook his head and went back to surveying the unbroken snow. At least patrolling in this kind of weather was actually easier than one might think. It was perfectly obvious whether anyone had been this way over night or not – there had been no fresh snow to cover the tracks.

"We'll head east and check along the lake."

"Can't we just head back? Stupid, pointless patrol, should have left you in bed…" Arthur blocked out Merlin's moaning as he led the way in the direction he wanted. Now and again he found himself glancing over his shoulder to actually check whether Merlin was following him or not. It wouldn't have surprised him if Merlin had simply turned around and headed back into the warmth. Then again, it wasn't a surprise either to find his servant was dutifully trudging behind, even if Merlin was moaning about it for the whole time it took them to get to the lake.

When they did get there, however, even Merlin stopped talking long enough to gape in wonder. Arthur knew what had stolen his breath away though. The lake was frozen solid, glinting in the weak sunlight that had managed to force its way through the clouds.

"I wonder how thick it is."

"Don't you dare find out! I mean it, Arthur, you are not going on that ice."

"Yes, Sire!" Arthur mock saluted as he shook his head at Merlin. Merlin had the decency to blush slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry. It's just… the river froze at home, back in Ealdor once. A group of boys went out on it, one fell through. Always unnerved me."

"Come on. Let's head back." Determined to get the conversation back on a lighter note, Arthur turned. Only for his arm to immediately shooting out, catching Merlin around the chest as he stopped him from taking a step forward. Taking unawares, Merlin wobbled and Arthur had to change his position until he had grabbed the servant by the front of his shirt in order to keep him upright.

"Idiot."

Even Merlin couldn't deny that there was a hint of fond amusement in Arthur's tone, but he didn't say anything. He had just seen what had caught Arthur's attention. Up until now, the snow had been untouched. But the clearing in front of them had been somewhat trampled, and there were numerous footsteps leading into it. Crouching down, Arthur followed the footprints, his eyes scanning the area carefully.

Four sets of prints led into the clearing.

But none seem to be leading out.

"Someone is still here." Merlin's body immediately tensed as he silently made his way over to the prince. Arthur huffed when he realised that Merlin could move quietly when he wanted to, but didn't say anything as Merlin crouched down next to him.

"Who do you think it is?"

"You are invading our territory, Prince of Camelot." Arthur shut his eyes with a groan. He knew that voice.

"Get them!"

Arthur grabbed Merlin by the back of his shirt and hauled him back a pace even as a volley of snowballs came flying towards them. Arthur ducked behind a tree, but bit his lip when he realised that Merlin had not been so lucky.

"Show yourself, _Sir_ Gwaine."

Cautiously poking his head around the tree, Arthur let himself come out when Gwaine, Percival, Leon and Lancelot emerged. They were all flushed yet all had grins on their faces.

"Where's Elyan?"

"He had to work in the forge whilst he had the time." Lancelot said regretfully, but Arthur let his hands rest on his hips as he surveyed the rest of his men.

"And just precisely what are you doing out here?"

"Making sure no one is going to invade." Gwaine responded lightly with a grin, bending down and beginning to roll more snow even as he spoke.

"Really?"

"Yep." Arthur ducked as the snowball came flying towards his head, causing it to explode against the tree.

"Arm yourself, Pendragon!"

"Hey! I don't want to be caught in the crossfire as you two fuel your egos." Merlin cried, inching away as he spoke. Arthur glanced around the men quickly, calculating before he grinned.

"Teams?"

"I want Merlin!" Arthur wasn't sure he had ever heard Lancelot speak so quickly, but Merlin grinned and swiftly hurried to the knight's side. Arthur could only watch as they immediately began whispering, knowing that they were planning something.

"Fine, then I want Leon." Arthur didn't care if he sounded like a petulant child; he knew what good aim his right hand man had. Leon dipped his head slightly and moved to stand next to his prince. Gwaine and Percival glanced at each other.

"Guess I'm stuck with you, big man."

"Watch it."

"Right, the rules are…"

"Go!"

"Gwaine!" It was too late though; Gwaine and Percival had already disappeared behind the same trees that they had been hiding behind when Arthur and Merlin had first arrived. Arthur grabbed Leon's arm, also pulling him behind a tree. The two dropped into crouches, hands flying as they formed their ammunition.

"You aim for Percival, I'll take Gwaine."

"What about Merlin and Lancelot?"

"Lancelot won't throw any at me, he is too noble. And Merlin's aim is pathetic. No, our best strategy is to take out the strongest opposition. That's those two over there, agree?"

"Agree."

"On three?"

"One."

"Two."

"Th…" Arthur broke off with a yelp as something crashed into the back of his head and trickled down his neck. He turned just in time to see Merlin sprinting across the clearing. In that short time, he and Lancelot had somehow formed small ditches on either side of the clearing. Arthur watched as Gwaine tried to throw one at Lancelot, only for it to soar over his head. As Gwaine was distracted again, Merlin threw. Arthur gaped as it met its target and caused Gwaine to shake out his hair with a grin. Arthur wasn't sure if he would be able to have made that shot, so how had Merlin?

"You were saying, Sire?"

"Fine, new plan…"

"Stop scheming and come and fight!" Gwaine's mocking voice came floating across the clearing and Arthur had stepped out from behind the tree before Leon had time to stop him. Instantly, four snowballs flew at him from different directions. Arthur managed to avoid three, but the fourth hit him even as he threw one back. Lancelot spluttered as the snow got him in the face, but Leon stepped from behind the tree and pelted Percival as he tried to sneak up on Merlin.

Merlin followed the arc of Leon's snowball, only to spin around and yelp as he realised that Percival was right behind him. Grabbing a handful of snow, he threw it in the larger man's face before scrambling up the bank of his small trench. Lancelot threw one powerfully across the entire clearing, but Percival ducked, jumped after Merlin and grabbed hold of the servant. His hands hooked through Merlin's shoulders, causing his arms to be useless.

"Lance, help!" Merlin practically screamed, laughing as Percival pulled him over to Gwaine. Arthur found that he was watching with baited breath as Gwaine stepped forward.

"We have your comrade hostage, Sir Lancelot, do you surrender?"

"Never!" Lancelot threw a snowball, hitting Gwaine straight in the face. Merlin dug his foot into a snow drift and flicked upwards, catching Gwaine as well, but Percival's grip didn't loosen.

"Your resistance is useless."

"No…don't!" Merlin was laughing too hard to be able to make any sort of threat but he screwed up his eyes as Gwaine nodded at Percival. Keeping hold of the squirming servant, he pulled back Merlin's collar as Gwaine stepped forward. Merlin could do nothing but yelp as the snow slid down his back.

"Fine, fine, I surrender." Lancelot scrambled from his trench with his hands in the air, only to receive a snowball in the face.

"Hey!"

"That was just revenge."

"Fair enough. An alliance then, Sir Gwaine?"

"Very well."

"Leon…" Arthur had dropped into a crouch as he watched Gwaine and Lancelot shake hands, Percival finally letting go of Merlin.

"I know precisely what you mean, Sire." Leon dropped down beside him, his hands also flying. Between the two of them, they quickly formed enough snowballs to give them a fighting chance against the opposition, and were throwing almost before the others knew what was happening. Every one hit their mark, but they were outnumbered. When the snowballs ran out, Arthur realised that they had formed a plan. Lancelot and Percival were making before handing them to Gwaine and Merlin to throw. Every one of theirs as well found their mark – even Merlin's. Realising that he had completely underestimated Merlin's aim, Arthur shook the snow out of his hair, trying to throw another one.

He was working too fast though, it went completely wild as another slid down his neck whilst his head was bent. Just about biting back a yelp, he watched as the same fate happened to Leon.

"I have a plan, Arthur."

"What is it?" Arthur ducked, finally causing Merlin's snowball to miss him. He was going to get his servant back for this. Leon didn't immediately answer, gasping instead as Gwaine got him straight in the face.

"Leon, we're running out of options here." It was true, the snow around them was now so churned up that Arthur knew they would have to shift position if they were able to make enough ammunition to defend themselves.

"You know the strategy we used on your first hunt?" Arthur glanced over at the other four, but nodded.

"Go on?"

"I suggest that we adopt it again now?" Arthur wasn't sure how it would work considering the situation, but knew that they didn't have much choice as Merlin's next snowball found its mark. Spitting out a mouthful of snow, Arthur nodded.

"On three?"

"No…go!" Glancing up, Arthur quickly realised what Leon had seen. Lancelot and Percival had both stood up, armed, as well. All four of them were about to throw and Arthur nodded.

"Run!"

Without hesitating, the prince and his knight shot off into the trees.

"Get them!" Snow crashed around their feet as the others pelted them with ammunition as the pair ran.

"Arthur, this way!" As Leon veered off, Arthur tried to follow him. But the ground was slippery and he turned to fast, losing his footing and rolling through the snow.

"Leon!" The knight turned, but he hadn't taken any more than one step when the others were over Arthur. Percival crouched by his head, holding him down in the snow. Lancelot hovered at the back and Gwaine was standing by Percival, snow in his hands that he was holding over Arthur's head. Merlin, however, stepped over the prince, one foot pressing into each of his sides and snow piled high in his arms.

"Merlin, don't you dare…"

"Do you surrender?"

"No." Merlin nodded at Gwaine, who proceeded to trickle some of the snow onto Arthur's face. Taken aback at how commanding his servant could sound, Arthur screwed up his eyes, but Percival's hold didn't slacken.

"Fine, fine, what are your terms?" Merlin grinned, and Arthur found that he was swallowing nervously. He was expecting some sort of demand about a day off or something along those lines. What he wasn't expecting was for Merlin to simply look at Gwaine.

"Our terms…" Arthur found that tilting his head back so that he could get a better look at the man was a bad idea as it just forced some snow down his neck.

"…are simple."

"What?" Leon was coming closer, but Arthur knew that he had no snow in his hands. He wouldn't risk it, not considering the situation that Arthur was in.

"Just tell me, Gwaine."

"Come to the tavern with us tonight?" Arthur gaped at him, and the knight took the opportunity to sprinkle more snow down on him. As Merlin tilted his arms meaningfully, Arthur pretended to sigh dramatically.

"Done."

"Very well." Gwaine and Percival stepped back, but Arthur shouted as Merlin's load of snow suddenly dumped itself on his stomach.

"Sorry, I slipped." There was a note of mock sincerity in Merlin's voice as he stepped back. It was clear that he didn't expect Arthur to believe it any more than he did considering the way he was watching Arthur almost nervously, clearly expecting retaliation.

"Sure…" Arthur grinned as Percival grasped his arm and pulled him to his feet, helping Arthur brush the snow of his clothes as he did so. Repeating Gwaine's earlier actions and forcing some down the back of Merlin's shirt, Arthur found that he was laughing as Gwaine started to pelt snow at Leon, chasing the normally serious man back towards Camelot.

Maybe it didn't hurt to take a break from his duties every now and again after all?


End file.
